One person was killed Wednesday in an early morning house fire on Long Island.
The blaze broke out around 5:45 a.m. at a home in Oakdale. Multiple 911 calls led to nine departments arriving at the scene.
“When we first showed up there was heavy fire showing through the front of the house, the window and going through the roof,” West Sayville Fire Department chief Patrick D’Onofrio said.
He said that firefighters were unable to save the person inside because of the conditions.
“We made entry through the side of the house, made a little bit down the hallway, but due to the fire load, we had to push our way out,” D’Onofrio said. “We weren’t able to grab the victim, unfortunately.”
Firefighters were able to enter the house in the back, but “had to bail out pretty quickly through the back” because of the flames, Ryan Huguenin, second assistant chief of the West Sayville Fire Department, said.
After the fire was extinguished around 7 a.m., the home was declared a total loss, with several sections collapsed, blown-out windows and roof damage from the firefighters pouring water from above to douse the flames.
The victim was only identified as an elderly man.
Neighbors and friends said the victim was a skilled outdoorsman who lived alone.
“An avid supporter of the bay and hunting,” close friend Francis Palumbo told News 12. “Just a great guy. It’s devastating.”
The Suffolk police department homicide squad and arson section are investigating the fire.
